Haitian migrants seen illegally entering US through South Florida beach
CBP says 21 Haitian migrants, including men, women, and children, were taken into custody
More than 20 Haitian migrants, including men, women and children, were arrested Wednesday morning after landing ashore at a South Florida beach, authorities said.
U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a maritime smuggling incident in Sunny Isles, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told Fox News.
Video showing Haitian migrants jumping off a boat at a South Florida beach. (@josedavidreyes_ / Instagram)
"After an extensive search of the area, Border Patrol agents arrested 21 Haitian migrants," the CBP spokesperson said in a statement. "The migrants will be interviewed and processed for removal proceedings."
He did not provide further details.
A video posted online and claiming to have been filmed in Sunny Isles, shows a group of people getting off a small boat on a mostly empty beach.
The people can be seen running for cover once off the boat, and the vessel takes off into the water once everyone has gotten off.
CBP could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
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Another video, shared on the verified Facebook page, "ONLY in DADE," shows the same video at Sunny Isles Beach but shot from a different angle.
The Sunny Isles and Miami-Dade police departments both told Fox News their officers assisted CBP but are not involved in the investigation. Fox News has reached out to Homeland Security Investigations, which is taking the lead on this incident.
Haitian migrants continue to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on the Rio Grande as seen from Ciudad Acuna, (Photo by PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images)
The incident came after a surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border. It led to chaotic scenes with more than 15,000 migrants camped under the International Bridge at one point as the Department of Homeland Security surged resources to process some migrants and expel others.
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Democrats and immigration proponents criticized the handling of the migrants, with some repeating false claims that Border Patrol agents on horseback were using whips on the migrants.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
United Nations human rights experts this week criticized the U.S. for last month’s expulsion, accusing the U.S. of "racialized exclusion."
"In expediting the collective expulsion of Haitian migrants, the United States is subjecting a group of predominantly Black migrants to impermissible risks of refoulement and human rights abuse without any individualized evaluation," the experts said in a statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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The OHCHR statement said the experts had accused the U.S. of "ongoing systematic mass deportation" of Haitian migrants and refugees.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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